Does the Party Lifestyle Promoted by Social Media Encourage Alcoholism?

Social media encourages us to always share the best parts of our lives. Barring the occasional "I work so hard!" complaint, most people don't post boring details on social media. Instead, they talk about the holidays they go on, the nice things they buy, and the parties they attend. This phenomenon can lead to impressionable young people thinking that real life is supposed to be the way life is depicted on Facebook, leading to feelings of inadequacy and depression.

When a young person sees lots of posts on social media about parties, cocktails and beers, it's natural for them to assume that it's perfectly normal to drink a lot. In fact, they may assume that if they aren't drinking and partying every weekend, they are boring or unpopular. This skewed perception of what is normal, combined with feelings of inadequacy, could cause some young people to turn to alcoholism.

That's not to say that all social media is dangerous or bad. Party Positive, a new initiative by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators is working to change the way that students think about the party lifestyle. This initiative encourages students to eat right, stay hydrated, and be responsible when they are at parties. This alone won't make any difference to the social media problem, but it will help students to stay safe when they go to parties.

Young people are starting social media engagement at an earlier and earlier age, and this shift could benefit future generations of students. Parents should educate their children about the way things appear online, and remind them that most people present themselves on social media the way they want to be, rather than the way they really are. The old advice of "don't believe everything you read" applies just as much to social media as it does to print media.